,----[ Quote ]
| Google's top executives on Thursday gave a glimpse into how it might try to
| deflect antitrust concerns of a possible ad-sharing deal with rival Yahoo,
| advising observers to look at the overall ad market.
|
| "You are narrowly focused on search advertising," co-founder Sergey Brin told
| reporters at the company's headquarters here before Google's shareholder
| meeting. "Advertising as a whole is much broader, and Internet advertising is
| much broader."
|
| [...]
|
| Yahoo-Google ad test a success
|
| The two-week test with Yahoo went well, Brin said.
|
| "We had a really good dynamic. We were able to implement it quickly. The
| technology teams got along well. They were able to get the protocols working
| very easily and able to gain a lot of insights," Brin said.
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,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft's Yahoo bid is over, but the aftermath might prove just as
| interesting. And it looks like Google could play a significant role.
|
| During its tussle with Microsoft, Yahoo tested a search-related advertising
| alliance with Google in an attempt to boost its profits and fend off
| Microsoft's unsolicited offer. Under the arrangement, ads from Google's
| lucrative system were delivered alongside Yahoo search results.
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,----[ Quote ]
| The part of the new Yahoo letter I found most interesting, though, was the
| mention of antitrust issues that would arise if the acquisition goes through
| — something that neither Microsoft nor Yahoo has spent much time discussing
| publicly. From the letter:
|
| “As to antitrust, we have discussed with you our concerns. Any
| transaction between us would result in a thorough regulatory review in
| multiple jurisdictions. As a follow up to a recent meeting among our
| respective legal advisors we had on this topic, and at your request, we
| provided to you on March 28 a list of additional information we would
| need to further our understanding of the regulatory issues associated
| with any transaction. To date, you have still not provided any of the
| requested information.”
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,----[ Quote ]
| The same day that Microsoft announced it was about to offer $44.6 billion
| offer for Yahoo, Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), chairman of the Senate
| Antitrust Subcommittee, issued a statement: “We will need to scrutinize the
| deal carefully to ensure that it will not cause any harm to the
| competitiveness of what has been a vibrant high tech marketplace, nor
| negatively impact the privacy rights of internet users.”
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,----[ Quote ]
| Two days after they talked, the AAI released a statement that called for
| regulators to closely scrutinize Microsoft's bid. Lande, a Baltimore School
| of Law professor, says he spoke with Rule at length, but his reaction to the
| merger proposal was less than measured. "There will be less pressure to
| innovate in the long term," he says. "The consumer will lose."
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,----[ Quote ]
| Alibaba Group, the Chinese Internet company part-owned by Yahoo Inc, has
| hired advisers to evaluate issues related to a possible purchase of its U.S.
| partner by Microsoft Corp after the Chinese government said it would
| scrutinize the deal, the Wall Street Journal said Friday.
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,----[ Quote ]
| Nearly a decade after the government began its landmark effort to break
| up Microsoft, the Bush administration has sharply changed course by
| repeatedly defending the company both in the United States and abroad
| against accusations of anticompetitive conduct, including the recent
| rejection of a complaint by Google.
|
| [...]
|
| In the most striking recent example of the policy shift, the top
| antitrust official at the Justice Department last month urged state
| prosecutors to reject a confidential antitrust complaint filed by
| Google that is tied to a consent decree that monitors Microsoft's
| behavior. Google has accused Microsoft of designing its latest
| operating system, Vista, to discourage the use of Google's desktop
| search program, lawyers involved in the case said.
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,----[ Quote ]
| This raises a very important question - why didn't Microsoft match Google's
| $3.1 billion offer. Smith would not comment on this, but I can report from
| very good sources that in fact the company did offer to match it, and was
| willing to pay even more to insure that Google did not corner the online ad
| market. But for whatever reasons, the private equity firm that owned the
| majority of DoubleClick's shares decided to go with Google.
|
| [...]
|
| I asked Smith about the irony of Microsoft asking the government to
| support it on antitrust. His response was interesting.
`----

,----[ Quote ]
| After a government- and monopoly-inspired period in which Microsoft had
| to pretend to be a gentle force for global good, the company is being
| forced to return to its ruthless roots. Ironically, it is doing this
| in part by decrying the unfair practices of a competitor and
| shamelessly sucking up to the Establishment.
`----